LGF & Marvel Reach Deal With Striking Writers

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Marvel Entertainment Inc. reached interim agreements with striking Hollywood writers, moves that may lend momentum to union talks with the major media companies. The contracts are similar to ones the Writers Guild of America reached with United Artists, Worldwide Pants, Spyglass Entertainment, MRC, Jackson Bites, Mandate Films and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the union said yesterday in a statement.

The deals allow the studios to resume work on television shows and movies, including Marvel's "Thor.''

Lions Gate, the largest independent studio, will return to work on several TV shows, spokesman Peter Wilkes said. The company produces ``Mad Men'' for American Movie Classics, a cable channel owned by Bethpage, New York-based Cablevision Systems Corp., and ``Weeds,'' which airs on CBS Corp.'s Showtime network.

Marvel will go back to work on films based on its comic book characters, including "Captain America,'' "Ant-Man'' and "The Avengers,'' the company said in a statement.

The agreements were announced after the close of regular trading in U.S. markets.

The Directors Guild of America reached a 3 year deal with the studios' bargaining group, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, that increases pay for films and television shows sold on the Web.

Critical Points

-Writers have lost about $211 million in pay since walking off the job

-The strike has idled about 11,000 film and TV workers and cost the local economy about $1.6 billion, he estimates.
-The walkout had cost non-writer unionized workers, including stage hands, about $364 million